Introductory Note to the Life of Saint John Chrysostom in the Great Synaxarion

We must know that the holy repose of the divine Chrysostom took place on the fourteenth of September, when the Elevation of the Honorable Cross is celebrated. His commemoration, however, is celebrated today, the thirteenth of November, on which day his recall from his first exile took place, so that, as the Venerable Nikodemos the Hagiorite says, his Service might be chanted in its entirety, as is written in the manuscript of the Synaxarion.

Many composed his Life, the first of whom was Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis (situated at present-day Yalova, on the Gulf of Astacus in the Propontis). Palladius, contending on behalf of the divine Chrysostom, went to Rome on his account, to the Emperor Honorius and Pope Innocent. Other Lives and Encomia were composed in honor of John’s golden head by George of Alexandria, Cyril of Alexandria, Proclus, Theodoret, who composed five discourses on Chrysostom, as the critic Photios, who read them, testifies; Symeon Metaphrastes, Leo the Wise, an Anonymous author, Sophronios of Jerusalem, John of Damascus, Martyrios, Patriarch of Antioch, Kosmas, the Deacon of the Church of the Holy Apostles during the time of Chrysostom, Nilus the Sinaite, Isidore of Pelusium, Evagrius the Ascetic, Kosmas Vestitor, Niketas Skeuophylax, Niketas of Paphlagonia, Eustathios the Presbyter, Basil the Protothronos, Emperor Constantine the Porphyrogenitos, and Socrates. All these earlier writers number twenty-two.

A Prayer to Saint John Chrysostom (St. Justin Popovich)

A Prayer to Saint John Chrysostom 

By St. Justin Popovich

O MOST ELOQUENT supplicant of God among the human race, Holy Father John Chrysostom, behold, we come to you with our stammering prayers. Do not reject us, for in every stammered prayer of ours, behold, is our whole heart, behold, our sighs, behold, our cries! We pray to you, most great Saint: mercifully descend from your heights above the heavens into our poisonous lowlands, and heal us of every ailment of the soul, so that, with healthy souls, we may zealously serve your Lord and ours. Heal us also of every bodily ailment, if this is for our salvation, so that, with a healthy soul in a healthy body, we may strive in ascetic struggle and, with your all-powerful help, fight for the salvation of our soul; fight for the resurrection of our conscience from the dead; fight for the transformation of our sin-loving heart; fight for the deification of our devil-enslaved will, so that our will, guided by you, may desire and wish only what is Christ's, what is gospel, what is heavenly, what is eternal.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: November 13

The Month of November

Day 13

77. Repentance for Sins and the Promise to Reform One’s Life Contribute to Healing from Illness

(From the Life of Saint John Chrysostom)

Very many people, when illness befalls them, first begin to think about doctors and medicines. But we advise many such people to act differently from the way they usually do during illness. We advise them, during illness, first of all to strengthen themselves in faith in God, then to repent of their sins, and finally to make a promise that in the future they will reform their lives. Why is this so, you may ask. Because, we reply, examples show that there have been cases in which the faith of the sick in God, their repentance, and their promise to reform their lives brought them healing and completely freed them from their illnesses. What examples are these, you may ask further. To this we answer that the following are such examples.

Being Wise According to the Spirit of God

By Fr. Thomas Vamvinis

 

Slothfulness and Excuses for Unwillingness

The Evangelist Luke records the words spoken by Christ when His Seventy Disciples returned from the villages of Judea, to which He had sent them to preach the coming of the Kingdom of God:

“I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and have revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing before You.”

This is one of the sayings used by those who, in the words of St. Nektarios, “boldly advocate ignorance” — that is, those who consider being ignorant an asset for becoming a good and holy Christian. They also regard educated people with suspicion, believing that they distort the faith. This is an age-old, distorted view that is still very widespread in our own days.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: November 12

 

The Month of November

Day 12

74. Good Competition

(From the Life of Saint John the Merciful)

The Apostle Paul, through his disciple Timothy, gives a commandment to the rich, so that they may become rich in good works in the present life. He says: “Exhort those who are rich in this present age ... to be rich in good works” (1 Timothy 6:17–18). How, then, can the rich best fulfill this commandment of the Apostle? We think that the best way is through competition with one another. One rich man has done good through his wealth; let another, imitating him, in turn do the same good through his own wealth, or even greater good. The first has offered some form of assistance to his neighbor; let the other not fall behind him in offering the same assistance. Through such competition, the virtues of both will multiply rapidly, and both will thus enrich themselves with good works and fulfill the commandment of the Apostle. To help the rich understand this truth more clearly, we shall try to explain it to them through an actual example.

Conscious Misinterpretations of the Overall Teaching of Father John Romanides

By Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos and Agiou Vlasiou

I am not sure that what I am about to write will convince those who act in bad faith and who, for their own personal reasons, misinterpret the work and contribution of Fr. John Romanides to theology and the Church. I write this because I observe an “obsession” among certain theologians with judging and misinterpreting the work of this great theologian of our Church, despite the many books that have been published.

They do this even though detailed answers have been provided through the very work of this preeminent Dogmatic Theologian of the Orthodox Catholic Church. I have so far written many books interpreting the entire body of Fr. John Romanides’ research and oral teaching. I believe that one would have to have psychological and intellectual fixations not to understand them, or else one has not read them, and therefore continues to judge one-sidedly. As a result, such a person comes across as “theologically illiterate” or, to a great extent, prejudiced.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: November 11

The Month of November

Day 11

73. On the Words of the Savior: “And if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them” (Mark 16:18)

(From the Life of the Holy Martyr Victor)

In His conversation with the Apostles, before His Ascension, the Lord, while enumerating those blessings that would be bestowed upon believers in His name, said, among other things: “And if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them” (Mark 16:18). Can we not, brethren, prove the truth of these final words of Christ by an actual deed and demonstrate it through an example? Of course, we can, and this is what we shall now do for you.

The Venerable Repose of Nun Christodouli of the Sacred Monastery of Saint Panteleimon of Chrysokastro

By Archimandrite Demetrios Kavvadias

The first days of the month of November we are now passing through, are days of mourning for the historic Sacred Monastery of Saint Panteleimon of Chrysokastro in Eleftheroupoli, Kavala.

The Sacred Monastery of Saint Panteleimon of Chrysokastro, the spiritual work of the late Elder Philip (Avramidis), Gerontissa Lydia (Papadopoulou), and their venerable sisterhood, this pride of the Macedonian land and pan-Orthodox place of pilgrimage, mourns Sister Christodouli. Sister Christodouli was the first to reside at the Monastery with Gerontissa Lydia, and together they began the reconstruction of the monastery.

Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian, a Gift of God to the Contemporary World

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

We came to know Venerable Arsenios the Cappadocian, the Hadjiefendis, primarily through the book written about him by another Venerable of our time, Elder Paisios the Athonite. He was the one who “captivated” Venerable Paisios when he was still a small child, beginning in the place of their common origin, Farasa in Cappadocia. Because of this, he wished to follow in his footsteps and become a monk, wholly dedicated to God. Perhaps this turn toward monastic life on the part of Elder Paisios, apart from his own inclination, was due to some extent also to the power of the prayers of Saint Arsenios, who saw in the person of the little boy from Farasa (the future Saint Paisios, son of Prodromos Eznepidis, who was then the president of Farasa) his own successor. Indeed, he expressed this even at the time of the child's baptism. It is well known that, at the time of the naming, he “compelled” the godfather, instead of giving the child the name Christos, to give him his own name, Arsenios. Saint Paisios's desire to write the life of Saint Arsenios had been firmly planted within him many years earlier, until he finally brought it to fulfillment. And when he had gathered sufficient material — which continued to increase over time through his own research and that of others he knew — and had more or less completed the book, Saint Arsenios, after making a miraculous appearance, “approved” the work of his disciple and “successor.”